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Randolph Named to the Lou Groza Award Preseason Watch List
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has named UVa Junior Robert Randolph as one of its 30 kickers on the preseason watch list for the 2010 Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl.
In 2009 Randolph becomes the third Cavalier placekicker all-time to be named to the award’s semifinalist list since its inception in 1992. Rafael Garcia was a finalist in 1996 for the ‘Hoos and Connor Hughes was a semifinalist in 2005.
Randolph connected on 17-of-19 FG attempts while being successful on his first 11 attempts of the 2009 season. He ranked second in the ACC in field goal accuracy (89.5%). Randolph connected on a career long 49-yard field goal against Georgia Tech in a rainstorm, and set a career high with three field goals at North Carolina.
The Naples, Fla., native is one of five ACC kickers on the list, joining Casey Barth (North Carolina), Matt Bosher (Miami), Dustin Hopkins (Florida State), Will Snyderwine (Duke). Snyderwine is the only ACC kicker that also joined Randolph as a 2009 semifinalist. Only two placekickers in ACC history have won the Lou Groza Award. N.C. State’s Marc Primanti took the honors in 1996, while Florida State’s Sebastian Janikowski won the award in 1998 and 1999.
Accomplishments are tabulated throughout the season and the Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicker Award announces its 20 semifinalists on Oct. 29, 2010. From this list, a panel of over 300 experts selects the top three finalists for the award by Nov. 22, 2010. That same group then selects the national winner, which will be announced Dec. 9, 2010, during the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Award Show, broadcast live from Orlando, Fla.
The award is named in honor of one of the all-time great kickers in football history, Lou Groza. Playing for 21 seasons for the Cleveland Browns, Groza set numerous franchise records, including most games played, most points scored, and an amazing 107 consecutive games in which he scored a point. The 1,608 career points he scored is still a Browns’ franchise record, ranking third all-time in league history. Groza was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.